Author: Wu, Jialin Snow
Title: A study of mobile hotel booking : a case of China
Advisors: Law, Rob (SHTM)
Kucukusta, Deniz (SHTM)
Degree: Ph.D.
Year: 2018
Subject: Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations
Hotels -- Marketing
Consumers -- Attitudes
Hotels -- Computer network resources
Hotel management -- China
Department: School of Hotel and Tourism Management
Pages: xiv, 241 pages : color illustrations
Language: English
Abstract: With the rapid development of e-commerce and m-commerce, practitioners in the tourism and hospitality industry are making great efforts to enlarge their online distribution channels and to establish their business in the mobile market. They are keen to have a better understanding of online bookers, including d-Bookers (who use a website for tourism purchasing via desktop) and m-Bookers (who use mobile applications for tourism purchasing via mobile devices). The aim of this study is to develop a conceptual framework for understanding the factors affecting customer satisfaction and loyalty toward online hotel booking channels (the computer channel and the mobile channel). Chinese hotel bookers who have reserved a hotel room through a computer website or a mobile application (App) in the past 12 months were targeted for investigation. Beyond widening a cultural setting, this study builds a moderator-mediator mixed model linking perceived quality variables of online channels to customer loyalty, based on a theoretical background of the value co-creation paradigm and the framework of quality-satisfaction-loyalty. The key research constructs within the conceptual model are usability performance, functionality performance, perceived value for money, perceived value for time, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty. Structural equation modeling, hierarchical regression, and independent samples t-test were employed for data analysis. Collectively, the results from a sample of 431 d-Bookers (who used computer websites for hotel bookings) and the results from a sample of 401 m-Bookers (who used mobile Apps for hotel bookings) show that: (1) perceived quality factors (usability performance and functionality performance) have significant and positive effects on customer satisfaction with online booking channels; (2) customer satisfaction has significant and positive effects on customer loyalty toward online booking channels; and (3) customer satisfaction mediates the relationships between the perceived quality variables (usability performance and functionality performance) and customer loyalty to the online booking channels. The hotel booking behaviors of d-Bookers and m-Bookers were found to differ in several aspects. First, d-Booker and m-Booker were significantly different in their perceptions of functionality performance, usability performance, and perceived value for money. Second, the relative importance of the two perceived-quality variables (functionality performance and usability performance) in hotel bookings was distinct between d-Bookers and m-Bookers. Third, in regard to the moderation effects of the perceived value factors (perceived value for money and perceived value for time), the moderation effect was found significant for m-Bookers but not d-Bookers. Theoretical and managerial implications are drawn based on the findings of the study. Recommendations for future research are provided.
Rights: All rights reserved
Access: open access

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